Athletes busted on Twitter in 2013

Athletes often give boring, cliche quotes when plopped in front of the media. Fortunately, Twitter exists and provides a non-filtered outlet for players to interact with fans.

Sometimes, however, fingers are faster than brain cells and the results can be disastrous. Here's a roundup of sports figures who got busted in 2013 for posting foolish tweets.

(QMI Agency/Reuters/USA Today)

/

"Whatever u do is not work you disrespectful little peasant RT @MSkyBlue00 Getting paid to play a kids game is not work"

"All them jurors should go home tonight and kill themselves for letting a grown man kill a kid"

"Out of all the sports the Olympics could've dropped they dropped wrestling they are retards"

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White probably had the largest volume of controversial tweets in 2013. The three above are the best examples. 1) He responds to a critic. 2) His reaction to the George Zimmerman verdict. 3) His reaction to wrestling being dropped as a core Olympic sport early in the year.

(Reuters)

/

"Like I give a f--- what the haters say! That's life! Some people will always be just a little bit better and work just a little bit harder"

After a disappointing final round at the PGA Championship in August, Lee Westwood snapped. He rifled off about 50 tweets responding to those who criticized his six-over 76 performance, including the one above. He called one tweeter a "girly boy" and bragged about his earnings this past season, which exceeded $3 million.

(Reuters)

/

"All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys SMH..."

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace took flak for this tweet in April that reacted to NBA free agent Jason Collins revealing he was gay. Many took Wallace's uh, lack of understanding negatively. He responded soon after saying "Never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don't understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I offended."

(USA Today)

/

"Might call some of my Number street homies an put #Detroit on smash for a min! #DeadSerious"

New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith was fined $25,000 for this tweet in November directed toward Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings. The NBA deemed the tweet threatening. Smith lashed out after Jennings implied that his brother, fellow Knicks teammate Chris Smith, was only on the roster because New York wanted to sign J.R.

(USA Today)

/

"Just listened to the song in my bed. Gave me goosebumps no homo."

"Only steers and queers in Texas, and I'm not a cow."

These pair of homophobic tweets got Dallas Stars centre in hot water this year. The first one, from April, was about a song written by a friend of his. The second occurred days after he was traded to the Stars in July, and he claimed afterward he was hacked.